News

Research Snippets from BCVA

Published 19 December 12

One in three cows suffering from ketosis

Studies have shown that nearly 30 per cent of cows suffer
subclincal ketosis and 3-4 per cent have clinical ketosis during
the first 50 days of lactation. This is according to Alistair
Macrae from Royal (Dick) Veterinary School at Edinburgh University,
who warns that this puts the cows at risk of poorer fertility and
reduced production. "Problems with energy balance are the most
common nutritional constraint identified by metabolic profile blood
testing," he says. "Interestingly, 30 per cent of cows sampled had
good energy results in the last 10 days of pregnancy and the first
20 days of lactation, indicating that positive energy balance is
achievable." The key, he says, is adequate transition cow
nutrition both in late pregnancy and early lactation.
"Blood, urine, milk and rumen biochemistry can help assess
nutritional status in both late and early lactation and will
provide objective evidence of whether a ration that looks good on
paper is working as it should be."

Rethink calf feeding management

Feed calves more milk during cold weather to avoid them
utilising their own body fat stores and losing weight. This is the
message from Dai Grove White from University of Liverpool, who says
a best-practice rule-of-thumb is to feed 27 per cent more milk at
temperatures of 10°C, 40 per cent more at 5°C and 50 per cent if
conditions reach freezing. "Calf feeding management really does
need a rethink on many farms," he explained. "It's one of the
most neglected areas within dairy farming. Half of calves lose
weight in first days of life; this weight loss can be avoided by
paying particular attention to nutrition during these first
critical days. Feeding 50 per cent more colostrum can halve cull
rates in later life and have a positive impact on future milk
yields."

Risk of getting Digital Dermatitis is
lifelong

Heifers who get digital dermatitis in the rearing period are
twice as likely as their herdmates to get digital dermatitis during
first lactation, says Dr Nigel Cook from University of Wisconsin.
"When the disease does show, copper sulphate footbath treatment is
generally better than formalin but both work well," he said. The
use of a pre-wash bath increases fouling in the treatment bath and,
for this reason, Dr Cook recommends avoiding pre-wash bathing.
"Longer footbaths are more effective, with each hoof being dipped
three times in a footbath of 3.7m. The more times a hoof is dipped
into the treatment, the more successful the treatment will be.
Dairy farmers should aim for <5 per cent of hooves with digital
dermatitis lesions at dry off."